The Power of Focus
by Domosage
Summary: What if the Fourth made a last minute change to the seal? How will this affect Naruto? How will it affect the world?
1. Foundations of Greatness

**Ch 1: Foundations of Greatness **

"Yondaime sama !" The mortally injured jonin gasped out, a deep gash ran diagonally across his torso, " The Kyuubi is three miles from the wall, and approaching fa-" Suddenly, the warrior dropped dead where he stood. Minato had to choke back bitter tears, and ignore the tightness behind his ribs caused by the loss of his comrade in favor of finishing his final seal. He was just putting on the finishing touches on the mental enhancement unit of the labyrinth like diagram.

The grieving blonde compressed the enormous seal onto his hand and **Hiraishined **to his newborn son who was just minutes old. Minato could already tell that the boy in his arms would look exactly like himself. The infant was the Hokage's son, but would nonetheless have a tough life ahead. The Namikaze clan head knew very well that jinchuuriki never had easy lives.

The blonde man took his son to the battlefield , knowing that time was not a plentiful resource, he hastily summoned Gamabunta, the boss of the toad race.

"Minato-sama what are your orders?" The skyscraper of a toad bellowed. Minato, eager to halt the massacre of his people, the well respected man gave a nearly insurmountable task to his faithful companion.

"Please hold the kyuubi for five seconds."

"Consider it done Minato sama" The gargantuan beast roared. Using all his muscle, and all the chakra in his chakra coils, Gamabunta struggled to subdue the beast.

" Yondaime-sama is going to defeat the Kyuubi ! " a young chunin cried out in joy. Shouts of rejoice spread like a shockwave through the crowd of surviving shinobi. Soon they were all cheering for the strongest ninja in the elemental nations.

**"**_**foolish human scum they actually think that a mere human can – wait, what in the world is that light?" **_At that very instant the fourth activated layer one of the modified reaper death seal: reaping of the soul. Then the spirit of the Kyuubi was wrapped in phosphorescent chains and ripped out of it's body, immediately layer two was activated : sealing of the sacrifice. Naruto's frail little body rose out of the arms of the fourth and a bright light came out of his navel. Then everyone within ten miles saw a massive red sea of chakra invade the barely formed chakra coils of little baby Naruto. The child screamed in pain as his chakra coils ware ripped to shreds and reformed repeatedly.

By the time this process was over the village had a dead hokage, an orphaned newborn with a giant social stigma and kage level chakra reserves, and a very weary re-instated Third Hokage.

Six years later...

Six year old Naruto Uzumaki was running across the rooftops at full speed, running away from ANBU , laughing his full head off. Now normally as such high ranking ninja as the ANBU black ops would not be worrying themselves with such a small child, unless of couse said small child had dyed the entirety of the black ops headquarter neon pink, from the desk drawers to the blades of their tantos.

"You won't get away with this!" screamed one of the anbu

Naruto grinned over his shoulder "Yeah, sure I won't" Then the prankster king just faded away.

* * *

><p>"Uzumaki you're late on you're first day back to school!" nagged and irate Iruka<p>

"Sorry Iruka sensei" the orange wonder scratched his head in feigned embarrassment

"Detention!" and the scarred chunin's words were law. The rest of the day was spent normally, learning about how one dead guy fought another blah blah blah.

* * *

><p>Matters in the council room of the Hokage tower however were not so tranquil...<p>

"Hokage sama we have to kill the de- Uzumaki brat!" the aged Kage rubbed his temples in frustration, how often did the council call for his death? Once a meeting?

"Alright what is the reason this time ?"

"He turned the entire ANBU headquarters neon pink! This is surely a direct attack against village security."

_" Well, there is the fact that Naruto manages to pull off an insane prank around once a meeting."_ the Hokage conceded to himself._ "Naruto is quite the trickster, and has no respect for authority. He pulled off all sorts of pranks, ranging from painting elite ninjas pink to that porcelain lobster fiasco"_ The hokage nearly shuddered when he thought about it. He was glad for his reaction control. After all, he still had the council to deal with.

"If a six year old can infiltrate and desecrate the anbu headquarters without even getting caught, it is the fault of anbu for their lax behavior." the god of shinobi reprimanded deftly.

"He's not a six year old he's the-" the boisterous councilman was silenced by a cold glare from the hokage accompanied by a huge spike of killing intent that made him wet his pants.

"He is a loyal citizen of Konoha , albeit misguided, but loyal nonetheless" a malevolent aura was palpable in the air and the Hokage's eyes were radiating an intense blue light. The imprudent council member had fainted from shock , and would probably need some counseling from seeing a kind old man turning into a bloodthirsty demon in the blink of an eye. The rest of the council was just then reminded that the man running this village was not a senile old fool, but a powerful shinobi not to be taken lightly

* * *

><p>As the hokage and his escort went back to the office Raido had been meaning to ask a question<p>

"Was it really necessary to use such a powerful intimidation technique on that idiot"

"No, I just wanted the council off my back for a while" chuckled the hokage. "By the way, could you fetch Naruto for me I need to rip him a new one."

* * *

><p>"Alright, for detention today you are going to learn how to focus by making a leaf stick to your head with chakra." Naruto murmured along with Shikamaru ,Choji ,and Kiba but still preformed the exercise. At first everything went normally, everyone's leaf fell from their heads. But, the second time was far different. Three ninjas in training had the same result, the leaf still fell off. Naruto however, actually focused on the exercise. His result was bizarre to say the least. The leaf started to vibrate rapidly, and was shot off faster than the eyes of the trained chunin could see. His headband was cut diagonally on the right side and a trickle of blood oozed from his temple, and there was a demolished door behind him.<p>

"Iruka sensei are you okay? I'm so sorry." Naruto said with a worried face he knew that he was the cause of the chunin's bleeding and was worried if the instructor would hate him for it. In an hour the boys were dismissed from their detention.

" Naruto, you stay here " ordered Iruka ,Naruto crept toward his teacher's desk "Could you do that again, but outside this time?" The boy nodded slowly, dumbfounded.

In the academy training ground Naruto was holding the leaf this time in his hand about ten feet from the tree"Okay Naruto, try to cut a branch with that new technique you just pulled off. The Yondaime's son then stood, palm facing the sky, hand above his head preparing to gather chakra, when the wind blew the leaf away. With an exasperated sigh he got another leaf assumed the same position and focused all the chakra that he could into the small mass of the leaf, and tried to guide it toward the tree. He succeeded, but not in the way he originally thought. The leaf cut the branch of the young pine, as well as all the others including a sizable portion of the trunk leaving only a small skinny stump barely half a foot high where the tree used to be, with a circular pile of sawdust around it. The two ecstatic ninja would have celebrated with ramen but they were swiftly interrupted with a poof of smoke

"Naruto-san the Hokage requests your presence immediately" Naruto cringed

"See you later Iruka-sensei." Naruto said with true cheer in his voice

"How about we get ramen after School Tomorrow? "

"Sure Iruka sensei" the ramen addict gleefully replied.

"Hold on" Raido said in a bored monotone voice, perfectly hiding his anticipation of what was to come. As soon as the Hokage's assistant put is hand on Naruto's shoulder, the world dissapeared from Naruto's eyes as he was sucked into a black abyss. He could feel his body stretching across space and time. Then suddenly, his body snapped back together and he was in the Hokage's office. Although, the location couldn't have mattered less to a shunshin sick Naruto. With glazed eyes he stumbled into the chair nearest to him.

Sarutobi looked questioningly at his most loyal guard. Raido , on the other hand , could barely contain his laughter, after all, he hadn't done that in such a long time. " Well, now you know why no one uses the shunshin in battle" the Hokage said, slightly embarrassed "Now , on to business, WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU DYE ANBU HEADQUATERS PINK!"

"I thought it would be funny." Naruto said in a small, but still dazed voice, the villiage's strongest ninja eyed the boy carefully. Then, he finally broke under the pressure. "A week ago, when I was getting beat up by the villagers I saw ANBU standing over by the side and watched me get beat up a little bit, and then after ten minutes they finally stepped in to help, so I decided to pay them back for the hesitation by dyeing the headquarters pink." reminisced Naruto, with a grin a mile wide. "And, I thought it would be funny"

As the Hokage looked out the window behind him, he said something that he knew would send Naruto reeling " Naruto, If you were a ninja this act would be more severely punished, but since you are only a child, you will no longer be allowed to prank the village for a year." when he looked back he saw Naruto in the corner of his office sulking with a visible depression that was a hazy blue aura over his head. "But, If you do not prank anyone within that year, I will give you a very special gift on your birthday" The blond haired boy brightened up considerably after that, and left the office with a bright smile on his face, completely ignoring the glares of the villagers.

* * *

><p><em>Hiraishin: Instant teleportation techinque invented by the fourth<em>


	2. Day at the Academy

**Ch 2: Day at the Academy**

After meeting with the Hokage, Naruto, having nothing to do with his time (pranking no longer being an option), decided to work on controlling his new jutsu. Naruto first started to try getting the leaf to cut one branch, easier said than done. All he could manage to do was get the leaf to completely destroy the branch, and no matter how hard he concentrated the result was always the same. He never liked the idea of immense blood and gore, so he needed a cleaner attack method.

Then, the thought occurred to him: What if the medium was heavier, then it might have a less erratic flight path. Following this train of thought, he infused his shuriken with his chakra and felt the object become like a part of himself. While spinning the four pointed blade he was finally able to guide the lethal metal to the tree, and cut the branch cleanly. In celebration, Naruto put all the chakra he could into a leaf which gave the leaf a light blue glow. Then, it sped off into the forest. A few seconds later, Naruto was relieved of his nervous energy, and his secret training ground doubled in size.

A certain dog masked ANBU, transformed to hide the pink of his clothes, smiled warmly under his cold, hard, ANBU mask. Although he dyed his uniform pink, his sensei's son was growing by leaps and bounds. He already mastered the basic three: **Kawarimi, Henge**,and **Bunshin** , and somehow found a way to control his massive ocean of chakra. And, just now, creating a jutsu in three minutes. The kid was amazing, no doubt about it.

"Naruto, happy birthday!" Said the hokage, voice full of glee. He had his warm grandfatherly smile his robes were on and only one thing was missing.

"Where is your hat grandpa?"

"Remember that special gift that I told you about a few months ago" Naruto nodded "Well, since you did so well these past months..." The Fire Shadow opened the drawer and he pulled something out

"I get the **HAT **!"

" Yes Naruto, I have deemed you worthy of the title Hokage, and the entire village has gathered to congratulate you" Naruto's smile shone with the intensity of a thousand suns. The village finally recognized him as more than a demon brat, and he had finally gotten the hokage hat. At last his life was going right. As he approached the balcony these were some of the thoughts that were going through his mind, and when he reached his foot out to his adoring people he quickly realized that there was no balcony. As he fell to his certain demise with wind whipping through his hair, he woke up. After assessing his situation, he found himself on the ground next to his bed with the sunlight shining through the window.

*Sigh* "just another stupid dream" Naruto muttered under his breath. Then the former prankster king began his second day of being restricted from pranks.

* * *

><p>A gentle breeze picked up in the village, and it was just the beginning of spring. A small, prank deprived boy finally found time to relax and reflect upon the beauty of nature. The light wind lifted up his spirits,flowed through him, and gave him energy, and the melody of the bird's serenade brought peace to his heart. Despite the disappointing morning, Naruto felt that it would be a good day.<p>

"Hey Sakura-chan, can I walk with you?"

"Sure, Naruto-kun" said the cute little girl with pink hair, a warm smile missing a couple teeth graced her features. As they walked to the academy they talked of recent happenings. " The Hokage did what!"

"It's not so bad." The little genius replied "Now I have more time for training" He said with a grin. The two talked and talked and before they knew it they arrived at the academy building.

Umi and Mai started chanting "Naruto and Sakura sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage" Sakura blushed, Naruto face palmed

_"There is something seriously wrong with that song" _thought Naruto bitterly

_"I hope that happens someday" _thought Sakura wistfully _" I better do something or Naruto-kun might get the wrong idea"_ Sakura, taking a page from her other self's book launched a lightning quick hook into Umi's jaw, forcing Umi's head to crash into Mai's taking both out in one blow.

_"What a girl" _Naruto thought, amazed at the ferocity and power exhibited by the normally sweet girl in front of him.

* * *

><p>"SETTLE DOWN" the rambunctious classroom was silenced immediately. Everyone was still while Iruka announced the day's plan. " Today we will hold a Taijutsu tournament to gauge the skills that you have retained over the break." A series of cheers erupted from the class, but a hard glare from Iruka once again stilled them. "Now go to the dressing room to get your pads on"<p>

* * *

><p>"The rules of sparring are as follows: no ninjutsu or genjutsu, no chakra enhanced strikes, and no permanent injury is allowed. A point is won when you get a solid hit on an opponent, three points are necessary for a win" Iruka repeated robotically. It was the twenty ninth and final match of the day, and Iruka was starting to get really bored watching children trying to hit each other. On the other hand, it would be Naruto and Sasuke fighting. "Mizuki get some popcorn please"<p>

" Sure, this oughta be good."

"Begin!"

Naruto rushed in with a fist at he ready "I'm gonna wipe that cocky smirk off your face pretty boy."

"I'd like to see you try " Sasuke smirked as he deflected his punch, driving it toward the ground. Naruto used the momentum of the missed punch to jump into a flying axe kick. Sasuke, pivoting to barely escape the blow. The blonde landed softly and jumped a good distance away form his opponent.

"You've improved teme"

"likewise dobe" In a burst of speed he dashed at Naruto and dissapeared.

"_Where'd he go?" _Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke launching a kick from the ground on the left side. In a flash the blonde was at Sasuke's side, The skyward kick leaving him open, Naruto planted a palm strike in duckbutt's solar plexus, driving him to the ground. Quickly cartwheeling away Naruto got into a fighting stance.

"Poimmf Maruto" Iruka announced, mouth full of popcorn. The rest of the fight passed much like the first portion. That is, until Sasuke got frustrated.

"Goukakkyu no jutsu." in an attempt to protect himself Naruto vented an obscene amount of chakra at the fiery sphere. Flames filled the entire stadium leaving naruto nowhere to be seen.

_Sasuke is so cool _thought the fangirls

"SASUKE, WHAT THE HELL!" screamed Iruka. As Naruto was carried to the hospital by the burn unit Naruto was thinking

_"Thanks for the jutsu idea teme. In a year, your butt is mine"_

* * *

><p><em>Goukakkyu no Jutsu: Fireball Technique<em>

_Kawarimi: Substitution_

_Bunshin: Clone_

_Henge: Transformation_


	3. Reunion

**Ch 3: Reunion**

" .. and,Kakashi had the runs for a full week after that."

" Serves the pervert right, and thanks again for taking me out to Ichiraku's Iruka sensei. "

"You just got out of the hospital, and I was gonna take you anyway after class, but the.. incident happened"

" Don't worry, Teme won't get the future Hokage with the same trick twice." Naruto grinned cockily

" _He just got out of the hospital yet he is always so full of energy, what a strange kid" _Thought Iruka with a smile. He had been in the hospital for two weeks with burns that would have killed anyone else. Sasuke was suspended for a month due to his rash action. The full scope of the burns was not all his fault though, if Naruto hadn't poured the chakra equivalent to gasoline into the fire his burns would have been far less severe.

" Later Iruka sensei" Iruka snapped out of his delirium. Teuchi approached with a greedy glint in his eye and handed the scarred chunin the bill. The blonde had eaten half his spending money, again. Iruka left the stand with a significantly lighter wallet, and the stand had a proportionately happier Teuchi.

Back at his favorite training ground Naruto decided to try making a few tricks that he thought of. At first Naruto seemed to only stand there, a grimace of concentration on his face. After all, infusing the ground with chakra was hard work. Slowly, the blonde started to sink into the ground. Suddenly, he stopped.

"My idea worked!"he shouted in excitement. He then started to jump in victory, and immediately realized that something wasn't right. "My feet are stuck. somebody help me!" He received no response, just the wind being a prick and whistling nonchalantly. After he stopped hyperventilating he tried to reassure himself. _"Alright Naruto you got yourself into this mess, and you can get yourself out"_ The ninja in training instantly calmed his nerves and got to work freeing himself _"Focus the chakra into the earth, when it is being wasted the earth is ready" _Naruto then put on his grimace _"Feel the earth. Move every granule. Flow like water" _Soon Naruto found his feet in two small craters.

"Earth manipulation for the win" Naruto held out a peace sign to no one in particular. Naruto then began practicing his new trick to gain a fuller mastery of the art.

Naruto's days went on pretty much like the new normal. First learn the boring stuff at the academy, then train his balls off at the clearing. His physical workout was nothing to laugh at, he did pushups until he couldn't lift himself, then straighten his arms in pushup position and meditate till he could no longer hold the position. Then sprint till he could no longer move his legs. Needless to say he had trouble moving his body after the tort...err training. He then worked on bending the earth to his will. He was coming up with all sorts of limits on his technique. How high he could lift himself, how deep of a crater he can make, how many levitating rocks he can juggle at the same time , and the speed at which he could take control of the earth just to name a few, and he was pushing those limits every day. He would practice from the time he got out of the academy till the sun went down, then off to Ichiraku's.

The dead last didn't have many friends at the academy.

"Stay away from that child"

"He's a bad influence"

"He plays strip poker with the monster under your bed"

The adults made sure of that. Naruto talked to Sakura every now and then,but she had cooties and he thought it was better to not risk catching them. Kiba was way too loud, but friendly enough. But his best friends had to be Shikamaru and Chouji. Cloud watching with them was now one of his favorite hobbies.

" Saaaskayyy-kuuunnn we are so glad you're back!"

"Hn"

" _Duck butt actually graced them with a response this time, weird"_

"Naruto"

"Sasuke"

They still haven't forgiven each other for their actions in the spar

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke sank under a high roundhouse kick

" You're getting pretty good dobe"

Naruto weaved around a flurry of punches

" This is nothing teme."

" What in the world do _you_ have to hold back _dead last_?" Sasuke smirked

Naruto's knuckle grazed Sasuke's cheek. Opening a cut that wiped the grin off the Uchiha's face

" Nothing, of course" the blonde tried to grin like a fox, but it just looked like a pedosmile "After all, I don't have a family to teach me." Naruto didn't see the agony and rage in Sasuke's eyes. " Or a cool ninja bro to show me ju- HOLY CRAP" Sasuke leaped into the sky and unleashed an inferno nearly half the size of the circular arena. A blistering shockwave swept through the spectators.

" WHAT THE HELL SASUKE" Iruka shouted

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke brushed past the blonde, hurrying to get to his seat.

" Sasuke" the last Uchiha looked back at Naruto " I'm...I'm sorry for what I said in the spar. I didn't know." the golden haired child looked to the ground. Onyx voids met cerulean maelstroms, the air chilled. Immediately, the air warmed to it's normal temperature .

" I forgive you dobe. And, I'm sorry for launching jutsu at you. That was way out of line, no matter what you said."

"Apology accepted" the blonde flashed a bright smile. A flash of smoke materialized at the front of class.

"Time to learn jutsu." said Iruka, his hands were in pockets, and his chunin jacket flew open as he gracefully stepped out of the parting smoke

"_Iruka-sensei is so cool"_ The class settled quickly into their seats.

"_Dag gummit"_ thought a certain blonde _" why can't we learn a cool jutsu like fireball?"_

Iruka talked to the class, and held their attention throughout. Everyone who didn't know kawarimi yet learned something amazing. Naruto, of course slept in the back of class. And when Sasuke got up, he brought his chair up with him.

"NARUTO!"

"That was for roasting me. Besides, that was a lot easier on you than what I originally had planned."

"_VENDETTA!"_

Soon the kids went out to practice the jutsu. Many results were futile, producing smoke, but nothing of value.

"Sasuke-kun you're so amazing!" for once the fan club was right. Sasuke managed to get it on the first try. Naruto on the other hand, seemed to be having a bit of trouble compared to his duck butt haired counterpart.

"HAAAAAAA" A look of immense exertion appeared on his face, sweat rolled down his forehead.

" Are you trying to do jutsu, or poop your pants?" Ami said, with an air of superiority about her. After all, she at least managed to form smoke.

" Take a wild guess." a pink haired girl approached the conversation. Ami had nothing more to say and went away.

" Thanks Sakura."

" What are friends for?" Sakura grinned, showing off her cute 'one tooth missing' smile. Sasuke smirked as he walked up to the his two fellow ninja in training.

" C'mon Naruto, if you can't master this jutsu easily after beating me in taijutsu, my rep might take a hit."

Soon everyone went back into class, and learned about the Hokages. Naruto watched with rapt attention as Iruka lectured.

" The Nidaime, Tobirama Senju, finished building what his brother started. The Villiage Hidden in the Leaves. Under his lead the will of fire waxed strong and Konoha continued to be a great city. Many great shinobi grew up under him and he even instructed the third hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi."

" Iruka-sensei what jutsu did he use?" Naruto shouted, his eager hand a blur in the air.

" He used immense water jutsu without large sources of water to draw from."

This answer drove Naruto deep into thought. The rest of class was a haze in his memory. Even now, on the training field the blonde was still delving through his mind in search of an answer.

" I've got it!" Naruto blazed through his training and was tuckered out far faster than usual "Finally, I can't move." Naruto accessed his near bottomless chakra reserves, but this time did not turn his chakra to the ground. He turned to the air. Naruto found that he completely understood the earth when he infused chakra into it. Why wouldn't it be the same for air?

"_What in the world was he doing this time?" _Kakashi was watching from a tree just like usual. _"Where did he go?" _

"ANBU, how long have you been watching me?"


	4. Points for Effort

**Ch 4: Points for Effort**

Naruto stood on a branch behind Kakashi.

" I thought you said you couldn't move"

"Apparently, I can." the blond haired boy eyed the the ANBU with blank eyes _"I am so screwed, sooo screwed, I mean, if it wasn't for my chakra I couldn't move at all." _"Who are you? Why are you watching me? How long have you been following me?"

Kakashi took a moment to sort out the information " Inu of ANBU, Hokage's orders,since the last month"Inu disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto got a warm feeling inside. _" Gramps is looking out for me" _Naruto then shed tears of gratitude.

He didn't need the protection of course, but it was nice to know that he was thought of. Naruto left the clearing still high off of this strange warm feeling.

After Naruto ate dinner: fried pork with rolls that he bought at the market, washed down with a glass of milk, He fell into his bed and entered into rest.

Naruto shot out of bed , eyes wide. He got out of bed, afraid to enter his dreams again. _"Why is it always 3 a.m." _he sat down on the cold hardwood floor, and entered into his meditative state. After half an hour he finally entered his mindscape. Naruto smirked _"Getting faster."_

Naruto examined the walls of his house. _" They are all smooth, I am at peace with myself" _Naruto expected this, as he smoothed the walls over last week. What caused his nightmares? Naruto searched the house for anything to be out of place. He found nothing. That's when Naruto really got pissed. "What the hell Kurama!"

The nine tailed demon fox let loose a killing intent that struck fear in the heart of the Yondaime himself.

"Your life seemed to be going well for a change, and I felt like changing that."

"You're a jerk Fuzzy."

"I told you not to call me that."

"And I told you not to give me nightmares. Why do you still give me them ?"

"I am a demon, child. In case you didn't know, causing human misery is kind of my thing."

" Stop giving me nightmares or else I'll put you in timeout again."

The fox paled at this. "Fine."

Naruto then went back to sleep.

" Bodies, bodies everywhere, make it STOP!"

A pissed off Naruto tried to enter his meditative state for an hour, but his anger prevented him from entering his mindsape. He could have sworn he heard a dark chuckling in the back of his mind.

"Darn crafty fox." Naruto then got ready after the nine tails kept him up most of the night. He stumbled into his clothes, heated up some ramen, and went to the academy.

Naruto, having dicovered that he could sense others with the air, was constantly leaking out chakra to find the limits of his sensory perception.

" Four ANBU, chunin fingering kunai, and... interesting."

"Hi Hinata-chan!"

"eep" _" He caught me." _emptyness consumed her chest, there was a cold tingling in her tailbone. _"Wait a second" _Hinata looked at the Naruto walking in the street, then back to the Naruto behind her "You can already do the clone technique?" the blonde just grinned

"Wanna walk to school together?"

"S-Sure."

They walked to the academy, a fiery blush still on Hinata's face.

"Why do you want to be a ninja Hinata-chan?"

Hinata paused for a moment trying to think of her preconceived answer.

"I... I want to make my father proud."

Naruto nodded his head "Fair goal."

"Why d-do you want to be a ninja Naruto-kun?"

"Same reason as yours."

"Pardon the intrusion, but I thought you were an orphan."

"I am." Hinata looked at him with confusion shown clearly on her face. "Gramps used to tell me stories of my father. He said that dad was a great man that loved Konoha with all of his heart, and died honorably in it's defense. I want to follow in his footsteps. I feel that somehow he is still watching me, loving me from afar"

Hinata got a little teary eyed as she remembered her mother. She had that same feeling.

Soon they reached their class. They were immediately waved over by Sakura

"_There's more of that weird vibration in the air around Sakura than around normal people, Hinata too, wonder what it is."_

A green blur burst through the door. He was an odd looking man in green spandex and a dark green vest with sectioned front pockets and a black bowl cut. He then held his right fist in front of his chest, fire in his eyes.

"Iruka-sensei is not here today, so while he is away I, the mighty Guy-Sensei, will take the privilege of fanning your flames of youth into burning infernos!" The green beast led the crowd towards the training field. " Shout after me, INFERNO!"

"INFERNO" the class chorused back, full of exited energy. They didn't know what was to come, but they could be sure that it was exiting.

Naruto and Sasuke crawled toward the finish line, thoughts united.

"_Must go forward."_

Naruto and Sasuke collapsed at lap one hundred, the bodies of the other students littering the track.

" Alright, kids time for your brea..." Gai's voice got really small "Oh no." In atonement Gai placed a scroll on each of the winner's backs.

Naruto woke up, fluorescent lights blinding him. Walls unfamiliar, His mind raced to find where he was. White walls, weird smell, he was in a hospital. Sasuke was laying in the bed next to him, there was a scroll on his nightstand.

" _Wonder what this is." _Naruto opened the scroll and read the first paragraph. His eyes widened to the size of saucers when he realized just what he had won.


	5. Rubbing Knives with the Enemy

**Ch 5: Rubbing Knives with the Enemy**

Here are my secrets for training with weighted clothing.

Many benefits come to those who train this way.

These benefits include: more intense training, therefore greater gains

Increased speed when weights are off, surprising opponents

and,greater stamina for long missions

I trust that you will use them with all of your youthful fire

Train hard,

Gai-Sensei

As Naruto read the contents of the scroll He could barely contain his excitement. His muscles tensed in anticipation. He was going to get so strong using the teachings of the scroll. He was released later that day, and ran off to the training area to begin his work.

" _Inu's still here" _Naruto gathered his chakra. Pure energy, like a blue flame, wisped off of his body. Naruto concentrated hard and dove into the earth making a large hole. Air was sucked into the ground at an insane pace. The trees struggled to hold their own against the vortex. When the trees were about to forsake their hold on the soil, the wind stopped it's assault.

" _Darn, can't see" _Naruto's vision was clouded with utter darkness _"Oh well, better training" _Naruto created a dome of solid earth by condensing the soil to make a giant personal training room. Naruto then went on his exercise as usual, except for a couple things: arm weights, and leg weights heavy enough to grant a pleasant strain to his muscles.

This was Naruto's schedule: academy, training, and occasionally hanging out with friends. Then, back to the apartment to rest and prepare for the next day. He lived like this until six years later, when graduation time was upon him.

"_Mizuki has me in an illusion. I wonder why."_ Naruto threw his shuriken, soaring in a perfect arc towards the target. Suddenly, the genjutsu ended and he saw that he missed the target completely. Uzumaki, fail on the shuriken. _" The air around Mizuki is hot, I know he's not gay, must be planning something. I think I'll test him." _**"Bunshin no Jutsu"** a half dead clone of Naruto appeared at the feet of the creator.

"Uzumaki fail on the Bunshin."

The white haired instructor turned his head. "Can't we let this one slide Iruka-sensei? After all he did excellent on the physical exams, better than Sasuke even."

"No, a ninja who can't throw shuriken or perform Bunshin is barely a ninja at all."

* * *

><p>"<em>Alright, Naruto, look depressed."<em> Naruto sat on the swing, a dull look was in his eyes.

"Hey, Naruto" the blonde looked up at Mizuki

"What do you want?"

" Can I talk to you for a little bit?"

Naruto and Mizuki sat atop the Academy roof"Iruka just wants the best for you Naruto-kun he didn't mean anything personal by not passing you."

Naruto looked down "I know, but it still hurts." _"He's getting warm again"_

"There is a secret test you know. Iruka didn't think you were ready for it."

A gleam appeared in Naruto's eye "Really? What is it?"

* * *

><p>"<em>They really need to tighten security, I mean a forbidden scroll containing the most dangerous jutsu in the villiage was stolen by a mere Academy student." <em>Naruto shook his head and opened the scroll of sealing. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, solid clones made entirely out of chakra, and the user recieves memories of dispelled clones. Gold!"

"Finally got it down, yay!" Naruto thrust his fist into the air. His face suddenly turned serious _"Enormous chakra signature 'bout a minute away."_

A ninja in a chunin vest appeared. Naruto was confused for a second _"Mizuki ? No, his chakra is too high" _"Who are you, and what have you done with Mizuki-sensei!"

"Kukukuku, you're a very perceptive child, you interest me." Then, the imposter tore off his face to reveal a different face underneath.

"**Ninpo: Dasutosutomu"** A whirlwind kicked up sand made by Naruto. His dark brown bracelets grew into twin swords. The imposter was impaled through the gut, when the dust settled his head tilted back and his mouth opened wider than a man's torso. The supposedly impaled man slithered out of the manhole sized mouth with a sword in his right hand.

"I am impressed boy. What is your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Would you happen to be Kushina's son?"

"You know my mo-" The strange ninja slashed at Naruto with his sword. Naruto blocked with his own._"He gave off no extra heat, he's good." _The dust storm was restored to it's former fury

"**Kuchioyse no Jutsu" **A giant snake appeared in a cloud of smoke that silenced the flying dust.

Naruto jumped to a tree branch **"Ninpo: Dai kazewokiru" **a giant blade of wind tore though the snake, blood drenching the clearing.

The stranger jumped off of his dying snake and started forming hand seals **"Katon: kasai hato"** small birds made entirely of fire flew out of the snake man's mouth towards the blonde ninja. Deafening explosions shook the clearing. Naruto popped out of the ground and shot straight at his opponent's back, small tornadoes surrounding his two earthen blades. He smashed his weapons together.

"**Ninpo: Senpu o Setsudan" **a column of chakra infused wind barreled towards the enemy. A thick sticky fluid splashed out from the lethal tunnel of air.

"_Damn, mud" _Naruto's back was slashed at from behind, severing the ropes that held the scroll to his back. The pseudo Mizuki took the scroll from Naruto's back.

"Grow strong Naruto-kun, you may prove to be more entertaining for me." The man disapeared from the clearing.

"Naruto!" The Third Hokage shouted his name. As Naruto's consciousness faded away, he saw the third's feet standing on the ground beside him.

* * *

><p><strong>Dasutostomu:<strong> duststorm

**Dai kazewokiru:** great cutting wind

**senpu o setsudan:** cutting whirlwind

**kasai hato: **fire pigeon


	6. Finally Genin

**Ch 6: Finally Genin**

Naruto awoke in the hospital. A nurse was in the room writing something down on a clipboard. "What happened to me?" The nurse jumped at Naruto's voice.

"_How in the world is this kid even awake?" _she held her curled finger to her lips, trying to reword what was wrong with him. "Well, your back got slashed up, and you ran out of chakra. Then you slept for a day." the nurse smiled at him "Feeling better?"

"Yes"

"Good, now prove it."

Naruto jumped out of bed._"My back!" _Naruto smiled, trying to hide his pain.

"_He seems fine." _the nurse thought "Now when you go home, no strenuous activities, okay?"

"Sure." Naruto beamed at the nurse and jumped out of the window.

The nurse ran to the window. "Hey!" she barked " I said no strenuous activities."

"That wasn't strenuous, that was fun." Naruto shouted back.

The nurse turned back to his nightstand and shook her head. _"He was so exited to get out of this place that he even forgot his forehead protector."_

A white blur sped through the town, though it was not seen by most civilians, there was only a gust of wind to let them know that something passed by. _"I love having my weights off" _"Woohoo" Naruto took to the roofs to go at full speed.

Snap Snap Snap The gown that Naruto accidentally stole from the hospital flew off of his body. _" Oh no." _coating his body in chakra, Naruto further increased his speed.

All around Konoha, people saw a bright cobalt streak heading towards the demon's apartment building.

Hinata walked up the stairs to Naruto's apartment. She had heard that Naruto failed his Genin examination and wanted to cheer him up. When she got to the top of the stairs a blue blur sped through the balcony entrance.

" _Yes, finally home." _Naruto expanded his coat of chakra and gently came to a stop. The pain hit him. "My back!" Soon he realized who was in front of him Naruto froze "Hinata-chan!"

The light stopped in front of her, and when it faded she stared, wide eyed, at the man that appeared. Light shone off of his solid muscles, her pale white eyes soaked in every contour of his body. His broad shoulders, his chiseled chest, his magnificent abs, and his... Hinata quickly lost consciousness. Right before the girl fainted she could have sworn she heard the man call her name.

"This is bad." Naruto phased through the wall of his home, quickly got dressed, and put on his spare weights. He opened the door to his house, picked up his unconscious friend, and set her on the couch. "This place is filthy." Naruto got to work picking his place up. Then he got an idea. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" **The small one room apartment was cleaned quickly. After he dispelled his clones Hinata woke up.

"Good morning sleepy head."

"Where am I?" she looked around for a second."I'm in Naruto's..." her memories returned to her. "I SAW HIM NAKED!"

"Yes, yes you did."

A deep blush covered her face and neck. "Why am I the only one embarrassed?"

The blonde mused to himself _"I should be too. I was the one exposed after all. What a conundrum."_ Naruto paused for a bit " So, what did you come and see me for?"

"I wanted to do some taijutsu training, could you come please?"

Naruto gave her a warm smile "Of course"

They took off from the small apartment with a sprint, and soon they were out on the training field. A breeze stroked the grass, there was a calm between the two ninjas. Their met fists instantly. Naruto leaped into a flying ax kick, Hinata jumped away, Naruto's kick leaving a crater in the earth. Hinata's hands glowed blue as she dashed towards the blonde. Naruto dodged the lethal strikes carefully.

Naruto's eyes focused on a hole in her guard that left her right ribs open. _"There" _Naruto's fist shot towards his target. With his fist an inch away, Hinata pivoted on her left foot to Naruto's open right flank. "This is gonna hurt." Naruto thought as he pushed an intense amount of chakra into his right ribs.

The blow sent him tumbling on the ground.

"I win again." Hinata giggled

"Hey, I was holding back" Naruto pouted

They dashed at each other again for a second round. At round five they started to make conversation.

"Why did you fail the exam? I know you're stronger than all the graduating class combined."

Naruto paused wide eyed. Hinata, unable to stop her momentum felt her palm crash into Naruto's face. Naruto snapped out of his shock and flipped onto his feet. "Whoops, later Hinata I gotta go talk to Gramps." Naruto waved and was off in a burst of speed _"Better drop the spare weights." _Naruto cried at the thought of having to make new ones. The weights dropped, and made craters the size of hippos.

Now, Hinata was wide eyed _"How does he even move with that much weight?"_

"Hey! Get back here."

"Sorry, it's an emergency."

The hokage, in the middle of gathering his things to visit Naruto, heard his door burst kid that barged into his office gave him a wide grin.

"Gramps, good to see you"

"I was just going to visit you, what is this about?"

You see, I kinda intentionally failed the genin exam because I knew Mizuki was planning something. Well, it turned out not to be Mizuki, but that's not important."

"Wait, if you knew he was planning something why did you steal the scroll instead of reporting him?

"To draw him out into a nonpopulated area." The hokage looked at him suspiciously "Aaand togetaforbiddenjutsu."

"Naruto, I can get you out of this one, but don't abuse the system anymore."

Naruto hung his head "Fine"

"So, what is important if the person who killed and impersonated Mizuki is not important?"

"Mizuki's dead?"

"Yes, he was found this morning with his face torn off."

Naruto processed this information, trying not to vomit. "Well, um, anyway can I  
>retake my genin exam?"<p>

"Not unless you can get the scroll of sealing back." the kage joked

"Oh heh heh right, forgot about that, be back in a few minutes." with that Naruto jumped out of the window. The third sat in anticipation for a few minutes. Then he saw Naruto come into his office by the door, a giant scroll on his back.

The third was astonished "How did you get that away from Orochimaru?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to be surprised, then giddy "I stabbed a sannin. I stabbed a sannin." he chanted hysterically for minutes on end.

" Naruto, I was actually joking about getting back the scroll, I left your headband on your night stand at the hospital."

"Thanks Gramps." Naruto then rocketed out of the Hokage Tower with hyperactive energy.


	7. Team 7

**Ch 7: Team 7**

"Hey Naruto, good to see you." Sakura waved Naruto over.

Naruto grinned "Good to see you too Sakura."

"How'd you pass?"

"Long story."

"Alright then, tell me after class."

The genjutsu on the back wall faded away revealing Iruka, with a "happy graduation" banner above his head. After Iruka descended down the stairs, he turned around. "Time to find out what team you will be on."

In Naruto's head_ "Not my team, not my team, not my team, Finally!"_

"Team seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno" they shared a quick high five "and Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and nodded.

Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison "GROUP HUG!"

Sasuke looked at the two with terror

"Get away from me." Naruto and Sakura shot forward together, tackling Sasuke. Naruto quickly got off of Sasuke, but Sakura didn't notice.

"Getoffgetoffgetoff" Sasuke got out from under Sakura and as his back bumped into Naruto he let out a sigh of relief.

"Didn't know you leaned that way teme"

Sasuke took a deep breath, and regained his composure "Dobe." he picked up his chair, then sat back and relaxed.

The whole class was looking wide eyed at the trio when they heard Iruka clear his throat.

"Team 8: Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, Team 9's number was retired, Team 10 : Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. Wait for your Jounin- sensei, they will be here shortly."

3 freaking hours later

Sasuke was napping, Sakura was drawing, and Naruto was sitting on the ceiling, spinning a shuriken with his chakra, trying to calm himself. _"Naruto sensed someone walking down the hall. Haven't seen him in a while, I'll bet he's the sensei." _ Naruto dropped to the floor.

"Sensei's here." Naruto announced

"Aw man I almost finished my drawing, Sakura held her picture up, it was a landscape of a her favorite training ground. The tree's were drawn in such detail you could see the individual leaves, the wind was sweeping the grass, and there was a solid black stone that held the names of fallen heroes."

"You did that from memory? Incredible!"

Sakura clasped her hands together, tilted her head and smiled "Thanks Naruto-kun"

A man with a dark green vest walked in. His silver hair towered over his head, and his forehead protector covered one eye.

" Yo." he suddenly threw a kunai at Sasuke. Sasuke caught the kunai and threw it back. Kakashi, caught it, and slid it back into his sleeve.

"What the hell Inu!" Naruto yelled

"I heard playing catch was a bonding experience. Well anyway, meet me on the roof pronto." He promptly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto and Sakura started walking. Sakura looked back.

" Walk with us sleeping beauty."

Sasuke sighed "Fine."

They were soon on the roof.

"Now kids, it is time for introductions"

Sakura raised her hand "What do we say Sensei?"

Kakashi sighed "lemme just give you an example: My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like... watermelon, I dislike... none of your business, I have hobbies, and no dreams at this point in time. Now, blondie you go.

" My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like watermelon, I-" Sakura hit him in the head.

"Baka, you were supposed to apply it to yourself."

Naruto gave her his best innocent look "But I was just using what I learned from Sensei." Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"Remember Naruto-kun, it is important for a ninja to adapt their knowledge to their circumstances."

"If you insist Sakura-chan. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like training with friends, hanging out with, friends, and teasing friends." Naruto smiled at Sakura "My dislikes are people who judge others, and vegetables, ick, My hobbies are reading scrolls and doing my secret training. My dream, is to become the best ninja ever, and make my late father proud."

"Very good Naruto. Sleepy head, your turn."

Sasuke yawned "I am Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes-"

"You like a vegetable? You bastard!"

" Naruto-baka, don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that. A tomato is obviously a fruit."

"But Sakura-chan, it tastes nasty like a vegetable."

"Still, it's a fruit."

"Darn, continue Sasuke"

Sasuke stared at Naruto oddly, and continued "I dislike fangirls and especially fanboys." Sasuke shuddered. "My hobbies are writing poetry, and training. My dream is to kill my brother, he stole the last Klondike bar."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with concern. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"First of all it was a MINT Klondike bar, and he killed my family afterward."

Sakura spoke up "I don't think joking about a horrific incident is good for your mind."

Sasuke turned his head away. "My psychiatrist says otherwise."

Kakashi, decided to bring a sense of order to this conversation. "Alright pinkie, your turn."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, drawing, and fruit salad. I dislike idiots, jerks, and spinach. My hobbies are drawing and reading. My dream is to fall in love one day."

"Alright, now we all know each other. Gather at training ground seven at 5am. Don't be late."

As everyone was about to go home Naruto had an idea.

"Hey, since we're going to be a team, we should get to know the full extent of our capabilities. I'll even let you go to my secret training ground."

Sasuke thought it over "I think I'll pass." Sakura bonked Sasuke on the head

" You are coming, no one gets this opportunity." Sakura grinned in excitement "_Finally, I get to see where these secret training grounds are"_ Naruto rushed at the two, and faster than their eyes could see, he put his hands of their shoulders. Instantly, they were in a very dark place.

Sasuke was getting a bit scared. "Um, Naruto. Why can't we see?"

"Just a second." sparks lit up the cave, and ignited three circles of torches along the walls, the furthest torches being a faint glow in the distance.

Sakura gawked at the sight. "You made all of this?"

Told you it was big. And, this is only the training ground, wait till you see the living quarters."

Sasuke looked at Naruto incredulously "This is only part of it?"

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. We're going to spar one on one for 5 minutes. Whoever is winning will stay in. The other will observe, and the previous observer will fight the winner. This will go on for an hour. The winner will get a Klondike bar. Now, who wants to go first."

There was now a fire burning in Sasuke's eyes "I will go fir... actually, Sakura-san why don't you go ahead. Ladies first after all"

"Naruto, prepare for a beat down!"

Naruto grinned maliciously giving him a wild, feral look. "Begin!"


	8. We're a Team

**Ch 8: We're a Team **

Sakura dashed at Naruto, fist at the ready. When she got close enough, Naruto leap frogged over her head. This sparked Sakura's anger. She hid her boiling rage under a smirk, and started walking toward the blonde trickster.

"You think you're pretty funny huh? Well Sasori of the red sands isn't the only one who can make a human puppet!" Sakura dashed at Naruto again, this time low to the ground. As she neared her victim, and her fist rose steadily. Naruto got a very unsettling feeling when he recognized the trajectory of her fist. He stepped back just in time to avoid becoming a "human puppet".Unfortunately, he was not able to dodge the vicious uppercut to the jaw. As he landed from his impromptu back flip, he remembered that Sakura was a very crafty woman, and should be treated as such.

"Very good Sakura-chan, I didn't expect you to have improved so much." Naruto said as he dropped the weights on his forearms and calves, and making them sink into the ground without a trace. "Now let's stop the warm up and turn on the heat."

"Agreed." Sakura said with an eager grin. They both disappeared from the sight of a normal genin. However, Sasuke could see them perfectly. With Sakura using her perfect chakra control, and Naruto having years of conditioning, their speeds were virtually equal.

"It feels so good to cut loose right Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he ducked under a round house.

"You said it. It's been too long since we last sparred." Sakura said as she launched a right hook into Naruto's face.

"Yeah two months is way too long." Naruto launched Sakura out of the ring with a palm strike to the gut. "Teme, it's your turn" Sasuke smirked

"I really hope that's not all you've got."

"Don't worry, I won't disappoint. In fact just to make this a little more interesting, we should use jutsu too." This brought a wide grin to Sasuke's face

"Alright, I've got a little surprise for you in that case." After Sasuke took his weights off, the two ninja got into their fighting stances.

"I'm dying to see how far you've progressed with those chakra weights of yours, BEGIN!" Both of them started off with a punch to the jaw. There was a loud SMACK as they made contact. They jumped away from each other. "You've gotten stronger Sasuke teme."

"As have you dobe. **Katon: Housenka no Jutsu"** multiple small fireballs came out of Sasuke's mouth

"**Ninpo: Shadokyanon **I will get my Klondike bar!" Sharp rocks collided with Sasuke's fire, resulting in a huge dusty explosion. Sasuke leaped out of the dust cloud

"Not If I have anything to say about it! **Katon:** **Goukakyu no Jutsu**" A huge fireball shot out of Sasuke's mouth

"Still the same old tricks, **Ninpo: Dasutosutomu" **A sandstorm kicked up around Naruto, intercepting, and dissipating Sasuke's fireball. Sakura stared at the exchange in shock.

"_I knew they were good, but dang, I'm seriously glad they are on my team."_

Naruto and Sasuke stood facing each other. They both analyzed their opponent's stances, looking for any holes in their guard. Naruto, not seeing any big holes, decided to go and make one. He rushed at Sasuke with a fire in his eyes. Sasuke looked at Naruto in confusion.

"_A head on attack against me? I know he knows better than that." _Sasuke easily kneed Naruto in the chest, only for him to burst into smoke. _"The heck!?" _Sasuke activated his Sharingan, three tomoes spinning around his pupils. _"Left, Right, Behind,Up" _Sasuke looked down just a moment too late. Naruto burst out of the ground, and nailed Sasuke in the jaw. While still in mid air, Sasuke was sent to the sidelines with a jump kick.

"You're next Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out jovially

"Only Taijutsu again right Naruto-kun?"

"Right Sakura-chan!" Naruto gave her a nice guy pose. Sakura's eye twitched a little upon seeing his teeth sparkle. Naruto used Iruka's big head jutsu "Round two begin!"

"Hey, Naruto, what's up with you ripping off Iruka's jutsu?" Sasuke shouted

"Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Well it's not my turn yet.." Sasuke mumbled

"That what I thought, now Sakura, lets get on with trying to beat the snot outta each other."

"Can do." Sakura appeared next to Naruto and punched him in the face, sending ripples across his enlarged cheek. Naruto lost control of the jutsu before he hit the ground. They sparred for the rest of the hour, getting well acquainted with eachother's skills. At the end of their little tournament, Sasuke came out on top at the end, after he unveiled a new jutsu.

"Teme where did you learn that lightning jutsu?" Sasuke swallowed a bite of his Klondike bar.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out." He replied smugly. The next day, at 5am sharp, team 7, arrived at training field 7. They waited for two hours, and finally their Sensei showed up.

"Sorry for being late, I got lost on the path of life." Kakashi eye smiled. Sasuke glared at Kakashi. Sakura and Naruto Screamed in unison.

"LIAR!"

"Now let's get on with your test. Your goal is to take the bells from me, and the one who cannot get a bell will be sent back to the academy." Kakashi said, his eye smile never faltering. He started winding a timer and set it on a log. "You have three hours. Begin!" Kakashi revealed his sharingan. _"Naruto's chakra is everywhere!" _Kakashi felt a breeze of wind, and saw his precious bells flying toward Naruto in a cloud of chakra.

"Now I got two bells." Naruto passed a bell to each of his team mates " Now they got a bell, everyone got a bell, we all pass." Naruto had a smug grin. Kakashi stared at Naruto dumbfounded. It wasn't exactly what he meant, but they did complete the task.

"Y-You pass." said Kakashi unable to keep the stutter out of his voice. Naruto got a high five from both of his team mates. "I still need to get a feel for your abilities so come at me one by one. Sasuke, a bit irked that he was completely useless in this exercise, stepped forward.

"I'll go first."

* * *

><p>Katon: Housenka no jutsu = Fire release: Phoenix Flower techinique<p>

Ninpo: Shadokyanon = Ninja Art: Shard Cannon

Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu = Fireball technique

Ninpo Dasutosutomu =Ninja Art: Dust Storm


	9. Test of Strength

**Ch 9: Test of Strength**

Sasuke took his stance. _"Naruto took his bells in three seconds when he gave us three hours. This guy is underestimating us." _Sasuke smirked at this realization. His back foot dug into the ground, and he took off at an insane speed.

For a genin anyway.

"_It's like he's moving in slow motion, I hate fighting kids." _Kakashi thought. He parried the jab at his solar plexus. He easily got out of the way of the foot stomp. Whack! Sasuke was sent to the ground by Kakashi's blow. "Sasuke, foot stomps make you more immobile, thus making yourself an easier target." Sasuke growled, and took off again. He threw punch after punch, kick after kick, all of which missed. Kakashi yawned and threw a kunai at Sasuke, and he poofed into a log. "Duck butt, to even have a chance at hitting me, you gotta aim for the kill."

"You should have said that in the first place." Sasuke jumped out of the tree line holding a kunai over his head with both hands. As Sasuke neared his Sensei he threw his kunai,and replaced himself with a log. Kakashi lazily ducked under the projectiles just as he felt the heat of the fireball coming his way.

As the fireball dissipated, Sasuke looked on to admire his handiwork. Kakashi sensei was nowhere to be found, just a small patch of freshly turned dirt.

"Crap!" Sasuke exclaimed resorted to the technique he used to beat Naruto

"**Raiton: Kaminari Jishin no jutsu"** a web of electricity crackled across the grass, and Kakashi exploded out of his hiding place.

"Dang this kid's good." Kakashi gaze sharpened when he saw Sasuke's hands in a tiger seal.

"**Katon: Hanabi no jutsu" **Sasuke shot three medium sized flames out of his mouth. The instant one of them hit Kakashi in midair, all three exploded in a brilliant flash of white light. Kakashi's body however, was not found. Kakashi held a kunai inches behind Sasuke's back. Then Sasuke exploded in an extra big cloud of smoke.

"A smokescreen? Heh, cute. **Raiton: Gekitai suru no jutsu**" the enormous cloud of smoke was forced away from Kakashi. Sasuke struck in Kakashi's blind spot, but The jounin heard him coming a mile away. He was twice as fast as before, three tomoe sharingan .

"_His attacks are much faster now, he could actually hit me if I don't go all out." _Kakashi struck Sasuke with an ultrasonic knee to the jaw, creating some distance between the two.

"Alright Sasuke, I've seen enough. Even though your top speed is amazing for a genin, high chunin level in fact, you still need to improve. I am one of the fastest ninja in Konoha I still have trouble keeping up with my sharingan. Watch this with yours." Kakashi unleashed a blindingly fast, nonstop barrage on a poor, defenseless, tree. Kakashi turned around, and the tree crashed into the other trees behind it.

"That's called the ryu rendan, one of my more destructive taijutsu techniques. Imitate that as best you can, but remember to reinforce your fists with chakra." Sasuke went on to practice his assignment.

"Sakura, you're next." She didn't hesitate to go at her full power. At a speed near Sasuke's max, Sakura's chakra enhanced strength obliterated the ground Kakashi was standing on moments ago. Kakashi's eyes went wide as he finished his dodge.

"_Apparently I got the super powered genin squad. Oh well, more fun for me, now that I don't have to spend time on pure conditioning." _Kakashi eye smiled.

"What are you looking at cyclops?" Sakura growled behind Kakashi. Her left hook pulverized the log that Kakashi replaced himself with.

"_I will probably be pretty messed up on the off chance that I survive one of those punches. Maybe a genjutsu would work. Yes, a nice safe genjutsu._

"_Why is my chakra acting all funny? I must have used more chakra than I thought. Might as well end it with a bang." _Sakura forced most of her chakra into her fist, wrestling her chakra from Kakashi. Thus the genjutsu broke. Kakashi is sat in his tree, utterly baffled as to how genin of all ninja are giving him so much trouble.

"_My jutsu is broken, and her fist is freaking glowing! This is very very bad." _Kakashi started doing hand seals.

"So that's where you've been hiding." It required all of the control the former ANBU had to turn around calmly. Kakashi watched in horror as Sakura raced toward him.

"**Raiton: Inazuma shibari no jutsu" **A field of lightning expanded from Kakashi's body. Sakura's chakra laden fist took the brunt of the shock, but she still had trouble moving afterward. "Sakura your skill is surprising, I certainly did not expect so much strength from you." Sakura grinned cheekily. " As a reward for pushing me up against the ropes as a genin I will teach you a new jutsu." Kakashi made a shadow clone

"Follow me." Clone Kakashi waved Sakura over, and he walked into the trees.

"Guess it's my turn Inu." Naruto cracked his neck, and sunk into his fighting stance.

"Yes, I'm curious to see how you have grown after all these years training in secret." Kakashi revealed his sharingan. Naruto grinned and a gentle breeze swept across the clearing. Leaves from various trees floated over to the blonde, and they began spinning lazily around him, guarding him. Kakashi, already having seen what these leaves can do, was a little more than a bit disconcerted.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" **An enormous fireball shot out of Kakashi's mouth. It exploded where Naruto stood, incinerating the leaves. Naruto's foot collided with the back of Kakashi's head, sending the jonin sprawling. Though he quickly recovered, Kakashi realized that he had a real fight on his hands.

"_He didn't even make a sound when falling through the air, and I don't think I can smell him either. I'm glad this isn't to the death." _Naruto then dropped his weights.

"**Kage Bunshin no jutsu" **Kakashi was surrounded by clones. They rushed the jonin in teams of three. The first clone launched a wide leg sweep, The second clone went into a flying kick, and the third approached from behind. Kakashi jumped over the leg sweep, caught the flying kick, and flung the kicker into the clone behind him. Using the remaining clone's face as a spring board, he back flipped away.

"Is that all you got? Sure, you're faster than your other team mates, but you've got to move faster to hit me." Slender arms reached around Kakashi, and soft breasts pressed against his back.

"Are you sure you want me to go faster Inu-chan?" A fountain of blood spurted from Kakashi's nose, knocking him out cold. Naruko burst into smoke, revealing Naruto, on the floor, laughing his butt off.

When Naruto finally recovered, he saw that Kakashi was still passed out. Seeing this rare opportunity, Naruto slowly crept over. He reached for Kakashi's mask. Sasuke and Sakura, both taking a break from training, stared in childlike curiosity.

"_Slowly, slowly"_

Kakashi's eyes opened suddenly. "What are you three doing? Get back to work."

Sasuke and Sakura got back to work with their respective jutsu. Sasuke was trying to fell a tree in one go, but it took him two or three tries. Sakura was hitting a tree with different parts of her body as if she was testing something.

"Hey Sensei you forgot to give me something to work on."

"Oh, uh, what do you want to learn?" Naruto stared at his sensei in shock. He didn't expect to be able to choose his lesson.

"Why do you use hand seals?" Now it was Kakashi's turn to be surprised. How can the genius who mastered the academy three within a year of discovering his chakra not know what hand seals do?

"They make jutsu easier by making chakra more in tune with what you're trying to do."

"Oh, that makes sense, what does each one specifically do?"

"I don't exactly know, but I do know where you can find out." Kakashi pulled out a piece of chakra paper, channeled some chakra into it, making it crinkle, and wrote something down. Kakashi then handed it to Naruto. "Hand this to the librarian, she'll know what to do."

* * *

><p><strong>Raiton: Kaminari Jishin no jutsu: Lightning release: Thunder Earthquake technique<strong>

**Katon: Hanabi no jutsu = Fire release: Firework technique**

**Raiton: Gekitai suru no jutsu = Lightning release: repulse technique**

**Raiton: Inazuma shibari no jutsu = Lightning release: Thunder paralysis technique**


	10. End of the First Day

**Chapter 10: End of the First Day**

Naruto just arrived at the library. He had some idea of what to expect, he was going to learn what hand seals do. Nevertheless, he had no idea what the note said. Kakashi wrote a note on the chakra paper, but it was complete gibberish.

"_Must be some kind of code." _Naruto handed the librarian the note. Her eyes widened, and she activated her Byakugan. She sighed as she deactivated her doujutsu.

"I'll be back in a second." She made sure that no one was watching, and opened a secret door in the wall behind her. It revealed a shelf filled with scrolls. She took one, and handed it to Naruto. Her pale eyes focused on his, demanding full attention. "Do not let this scroll fall into the wrong hands, it contains top level secrets, and you'll be in big trouble if anything happens to it." Naruto gulped and nodded in fear and understanding. Naruto soon made it to the team's training ground, and got a clone to work on reading the scroll.

"Thanks for the scroll. What else should I do Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi smacked himself for forgetting that Naruto could do the shadow clone.

"How do you normally train your body?"

"I make a typhoon of dust, and throw rocks to the wind. Then, I smash them with my fists whenever they come close. Keep in mind that I do this in total darkness." Kakashi wasn't even surprised anymore. With the stuff that Naruto pulled today, if he said that he sparred daily with Amaterasu, Kakashi would have believed him.

"Do you know how to access the inner gates?"

"What are those?"

"Good, something that you need to do personally for once." Naruto was giddy, he was finally learning something new from someone else for the first time in years. "The eight inner gates limit the flow of chakra in the body. You can forcibly open them, and have a temporary chakra increase. The mind gate, is the first, and easiest to open. In fact some people do it unconsciously when they protect people they care about. With my training and your current level of fitness you may be able to open it at will." Naruto leaped into the air.

"Awesome! What do I do?"

"Can you feel your chakra?"

"Of course."

"What do you feel in the left side of you head?" Naruto frowned in concentration.

"Oh, I see what you mean, there is a little less chakra flow there." Kakashi got out his book, and started walking away.

"When you can remove that barrier let me know." Naruto sat down and started to meditate. Soon he was in the basement with the fox. "Hey, Kurama do you know anything about these inner gates?"

"**Sure, there are seven of them that you can use, the first two are located in the brain, and the other five are located on the spine, they get progressively lower, and will give you more power. Do not, I repeat, do not use the eighth one. That will probably kill you, being a weak human and all."**

"How do you open them?"

"**You use the force of your will, as your will strengthens you will be able you use more gates. Right now you may be able to open three."**

"Thanks Kurama."

"**Don't mention it kit." **Naruto exercised the force of his will to open the first gate. Immediately, he began to feel the increased chakra flowing though him.

"This feels amazing!" He ran over to the nearest tree, cracked it with his elbow, and kicked it with all his might. Then he glued his feet to the ground with chakra, then he palm striked the tree. With a thunderous crack, the tree fell. Then the gate started to close up. Naruto could hear demonic laughter.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHH! The pain!" Kakashi walked up to his student, with his biggest eye smile.

"Looks like you finally figured it out."

"Why... didn't... you... tell me... about the paaaaaaaaaaain!"

"Suck it up, you'll be in far worse pain eventually. You are a shinobi after all." Kakashi continued reading his book, oblivious to Naruto's cries of torment. At that moment, Naruto's clone popped after returning the jutsu creation scroll.

"So that's how jutsu work. I -ow- cant wait -ow- there are so many things I want to try." Sadly, Naruto had to lay in the clearing to recover while his team mates trained, and Kakashi sensei read his book.

- two hours later -

Three small bodies were scattered around the clearing. When Kakashi finally finished the chapter he was working on, he decided to see how the genin were doing. Seeing how it was sufficiently late, and the kids were run into the ground, Kakashi decided to end the training.

"Hey Naruto, when you recover-" A snore interrupted him. Kakashi decided to throw a kunai at the sleeping Naruto. It sailed in the air mere centimeters from Naruto's nose. He didn't move. "He's a deep sleeper. We're gonna have to work on that." Kakashi turned away to exit the clearing.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei what the heck was that for! You could have hit me." Kakashi turned around lazily.

"Oh, I was just seeing if you were awake or not. If you really were awake, why didn't you catch it?" Naruto stared at Kakashi in silence.

"It was never going to hit me."

"Oh really? How did you know?"

"I can sense it. Didn't I tell you that I can smash flying boulders in a dust storm? In a dust storm, all five conventional senses are useless." Kakashi pounded his hand, as if he just solved a mystery.

"Interesting, I have to go register the team. Can you take care of your team mates?"

"Sure Kakashi-sensei." Naruto walked over to his team mates, and he used kawarimi to transport them to his secret training ground.

Sakura woke up immediately after being transported. She looked around the dimly lit cavern, and saw Naruto standing between her and Sasuke.

"How did you get us here?" Sakura asked

"Kawarimi." Sakura looked at Naruto skeptically.

"You need to be close to where you want to go to use kawarimi and you need to have something to replace with." Naruto got an impish grin in his face.

"Well, you're half right. You see- Oh wait, how rude of me, you must be thirsty from training, let me get you something to drink." Naruto then disappeared. He left Sakura waiting for a couple of minutes, then he came back with a quart of water. "Here you go. Now where was I?"

"The kawarimi."

"Oh right, you need something to switch with, I generally use-" Sasuke chose this moment to sit up.

"Ugh, where am I?"

"You're in my lair teme, and I'm explaining how I can cross vast distances with the kawarimi." Sasuke immediately paid close attention. "I use water vapor as a replacement, it's not really good for anything else. As for the proximity dilemma, you can only go so far as your chakra can stretch." Sakura's eyes widened in amazement.

"How do you get your chakra to stretch so far?" Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"I just fill the air with chakra wherever I go." Sakura was indignant at this.

"How can my team mate be so wasteful with chakra!" Sakura cried anime tears

"In my defense it is a great reserve building exercise." Sasuke smirked

"Oh, really?" Sasuke molded chakra, and let it flow into the air in front of him. Sasuke collapsed. "Dang, that is a good exercise." Sasuke went to sleep soon after.

"That moron! Now I have to carry him home. Sakura, can you walk?" Sakura shakily got up to her feet.

"Sure" Naruto grabbed her hand and teleported them in front of the Haruno residence. "Thank you Naruto-ku-" She would have finished her sentence, but he was gone.

Naruto carried Sasuke into the Uchiha's apartment. "Sasuke, you gotta know your limits, doing something like that outside of your friends company could get you killed. With kekei-genkai hunters, enemy ninja, and fangirls running around, the world just isn't safe anymore." Naruto got no response. He smirked. "Dobe." With that Naruto dissapeared. 


	11. The First Real Mission

**Chapter 11: The First Real Mission**

"Ow! Sakura, what the #!*% happened to 'I'll cover you'?" Sasuke pulled the kunai that cut his leg out of the fence, and threw it back at Kakashi.

"The low knives are hard to deflect. Kakashi-sensei, do you really have to smile that big?"

"This is the most fun I've had all day." Kakashi's grotesquely large smile got a little bigger. "I love D rank missions."

This is team seven's third week of nonstop D rank missions. Kakashi, after reviewing the results of his bell test, determined that his students were plenty strong for genin. So he has been working with them on controlling their power in high pressure situations.

Naruto, painting his section of the fence was growing more and more frustrated. _"Why the #!*% can't I use my ninja powers to paint the fence instantly? 'You're building character' my #!*% , he just likes to see us suffer. Sadistic #!*% ." _Naruto's light blue aura was getting darker and darker with his rage. He noticed the ground cracking at his feet.

"Shoot, gotta reign it in." Naruto took a deep breath and calmed his chakra aura.

"Hey Naruto, you never had a visible chakra aura before. What's up with that?" Sakura blocked a kunai headed straight for Naruto.

" #!*% Sakura why do you have to get faster over time, it's like you've been training or something."

"That's because I have been training Kakashi-sensei. Are you drunk?"

"No, I am hung over."

"Hn, my Sensei is an alcoholic."

"I am not!" Kakashi threw a knife at Sasuke, which Sakura blocked.

"You came to work with a hangover. Thus you are an alcoholic." Kakashi turned away and crossed his arms.

"I resent that." Sakura bopped the Jonin on the head, knocking him out cold. Then Sakura grabbed a paintbrush and started helping Naruto with his side of the fence.

"So anyway Naruto I'm all ears."

"My chakra is too massive to keep within my body, since Kakashi asked me to stop using my chakra weights, I've had to restrain it outside of my flesh till my natural chakra reserves adjust to my massive energy output."

"Hn, Showoff."

"Sasuke, this is not my choice, I prefer the weights to the aura. Do you have any idea how terrified this makes the civilians? Now I'm even more of a social outcast!" Sakura looked at Naruto

"Oh yeah, you do kind of look like a walking chakra bomb." They finished up painting the fence with just minimal kunai damage.

* * *

><p>"Mission completed Hokage-sama." Sasuke set the mission scroll on the table. Sarutobi gazed upon the unconscious Jonin draped over the small girl's shoulder.<p>

"What happened to Kakashi?" Kakashi slipped off of Sakura's shoulder, and hit the ground with a thud. He then stood up in one smooth motion, and gave the Hokage a relaxed salute. "Yo, Hokage-sama." The Hokage sighed.

"I ask again, what happened to you?

"In the course of duty, I was rendered unconscious by the risks thereof." The Hokage raised an eyebrow. Then looked at each of the Genin.

"I see. From the effort, skill, and frustration it must have taken to knock out your commanding officer, I conclude that you are ready for a Chunin level mission." Sarutobi pulled out a scroll and gave it to Kakashi. The Jonin memorized it, and threw the scroll into the incinerator.

"We leave at dawn, don't be late." Kakashi then vanished, leaving a smoke cloud where he once stood.

* * *

><p><em>Team 7 waiting at the gate… (twilight)<em>

Naruto was sitting by the wall, reading his jutsu theory book. Sakura was drawing. And Sasuke was meditating. Naruto closed his book.

"Hey Sakura watcha drawing?" Sakura waved him over.

"Come and see." Naruto stood up and slowly walked up to where Sakura sat on The Great Wall. He sat down beside her, and gazed at her drawing. Konoha's urban sprawl was pictured majestically at the foot of the sketch's centerpiece: Hokage Mountain. Displayed in their glory were the heads of the Hokages casting their stony gaze on the city they lived for, and died for. However, it was incomplete, Sakura just started drawing a fifth head on the mountain.

"Who's the fifth head?" Sakura smiled serenely.

"You'll see."

At that moment Kakashi arrived with the client. Sasuke stood up, and walked over, Sakura walked down the wall, and Naruto jumped off. As Naruto hit the ground, he disappeared with a shockwave, and appeared next to Kakashi. The client looked at the blonde wide eyed. The client addressed Team 7.

"I had doubts about a rookie Genin team protecting me, but…" He eyed Naruto. "…I can see that I am in good hands." Naruto had a wide grin at that. "However, you are a bit short." Naruto's face went red, and tried to sock the client. He was held back by Kakashi.

"Take that back you jerk!" The client smiled and put his hands in front of himself defensively.

"I didn't mean anything by it. Besides, it's not the size that matters, it's how you use it." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted.

" #!*% straight." Sasuke stepped towards the client.

"You still haven't told us your name."

"Oh, I'm sorry where are my manners? You may call me Matsushida or Matsu for short." The city gates creaked open, revealing the massive forest that surrounds Konoha. Naruto pumped his fist in the air.

"Let's go!"


	12. First Blood

**Ch 12: First Blood**

"Naruto, you're not supposed to do that. Someone will notice!"

"That's the point Sakura. It's like putting up a billboard saying 'Beware! Insanely powerful shinobi are in the area.' this way no bandit in their right mind would ever think to attack us."

"It's still way more firewood than we need."

"I have a special trick for that." Naruto pulled out a scroll.

"You never told me you knew sealing jutsu."

"A wise ninja is careful when he reveals his secrets. You never know who might be listening."

XxXxXx

The booming sound of splintering wood shook the forest. Soujima awoke with a gasp.

"Brother, did you hear that?"

"You have any idea what that was big bro?" A sly grin grew on Soujima's face.

"Judging from the sound of it, a ninja destroyed a massive tree. They must be tuckered out from their super technique. Sousuke, I think we just hit our lucky break."

Soujima and Souske are from a small missing ninja colony. They live with a rowdy bunch of guys that were exiled from their respective villages because of heinous crimes. For a living, they assail merchants whenever they need something. Recently, the group has been running out of ninja tools, so the brothers have been lurking near the trade routes to Konoha in hopes ninja supplies can be obtained.

* * *

><p>Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, what the #!*% was that."<p>

"I was just getting some wood Kakashi-Sensei."

"You do realize that everything within a ten mile radius must have heard that. Right?"

"Well yeah, why should we care? All of us are super strong."

"If you don't change that prideful way of thinking, You will fail your missions and die on the battlefield." Kakshi took a deep breath to gather his thoughts."Naruto, what are the three ways to win a fight?"

"Hmm. Well the first one is incapacitating the opponent. The second is... running away. I don't know the third one." Kakashi shook his head in disbelief.

"Sasuke would you like to tell Naruto about the third one?"

"The third method is avoiding the fight altogether. Why the heck don't you know that dobe?"

"And Naruto, my adorable little genin, as they should have impressed upon you in the academy, the third option is best when transporting precious cargo or a VIP." Sakura piped up.

"They covered that in advanced evasion theory. Naruto kept getting kicked out of that one."

"Oh yeah, I figured that since I was already so awesome at evasion, I did some... creative things to get kicked out."

"Creative!? You almost suffocated Sasuke with a plunger." Naruto sighed fondly.

"Now that one was absolutely beautiful. Took an entire week to plan it."

"You sociopathic #!*% !" While Sakura was busy strangling Naruto, and Kakashi was watching with amusement, Sasuke loomed in the background.

"_He was the one who did that!? He will pay dearly for that insult." _Lost in his thoughts, Sasuke had no clue that Matsu was creeping up behind him.

"Sasuke, what are you thinking about?" Sasuke jumped a little. "I shouldn't be able to scare my ninja."

"I wasn't scared."

* * *

><p>Soujima and Sousuke crept up to the clearing, cloaked by genjutsu. Soujima thought to himself.<em>"Good thing they are distracted they won't notice us stealing their supplies." <em>Sousuke stepped on a twig. _" #!*% Sousuke!"_

Sasuke's eyes went red.

"Whoa buddy, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Get down!" Sasuke jumped into the air and made a tiger seal. **Goukakyuu no Jutsu **a great ball of fire erupted from Sasuke's lips. "They jumped into the air." Sakura formed a seal of her own.

"**Kai**" Naruto sprang to his battle stance and allowed his chakra to coat each of his muscle fibers, and he was surrounded by an ethereal flame. Sasuke did the same, and the two shinobi sounded their battle cry in unison. "Behold the fruits of hard work!"

Naruto and Sasuke jumped into the air and sunk their fists into their opponents' solar plexus. Blood spurted from the brothers' lips, and they plummeted to the ground unconscious.

Matsu was on the ground shaking in terror. Kakashi appeared next to Matsu patting him on the back. Don't worry the worst part is over. After taking a few breaths, Matsu calmed down enough to gather his wits.

He stood and bowed to Team Seven. Thank you all I am in your debt. Sakura blushed, Sasuke nodded, and Naruto gave Matsu a thumbs up and a big shiny smile.


End file.
